The invention relates to the field of resource management, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to methods and devices for management of resources and of traffic flow related to the transfer of goods, especially containerised goods, by truck, to and from a terminal, such as a shipping terminal.
The commercial transport of goods is typically performed using a transport mode such as via road (typically with trucks, especially semi-trailer trucks), via rail (with trains), via air (with aircraft), and via sea (especially with ships, but also with barges and river boats).
During transport, goods are typically packed in standardized shipping containers (20′ and 40′ containers) allowing simple and efficient handling using standardized loading equipment such as overhead and gantry cranes onto and off of suitably-configured vehicles, e.g., standardized flatbed rail cars, standardized semi-trailers for towing by a truck, and container ships.
The long-distance transport of a full container between a source and a destination is typically mulitmodal, that is to say, at least once during the journey from the source to the destination, the container is transferred from one transport mode to a different transport mode.
Transloading, the process of transferring a full container from one transport mode to another, typically occurs at a terminal which is an interface between two transportation modes: an outwards large-scale mode (e.g., vessels such as aircraft, trains and ships all of which are referred to herein as vessels) and an inwards small-scale mode (road-vehicles, usually a flatbed semitrailer towed by a tractor unit (together called a semitrailer), but also other road vehicles, for example, a towed flatbed full-trailer or a rigid flatbed truck, for convenience herein collectively referred to as “trucks”).
As depicted in FIG. 1, a prior art terminal 10 constitutes an intersection between two streams, a large-scale transport stream 12 for transport of containers using an outward large-scale mode of transportation, and a small-scale transport stream 14 for transport of containers using an inward small-scale mode of transportation, with terminal 10 operating to transfer full containers between the two streams. For clarity, the discussion below will relate to terminal 10 as a road-sea terminal where the transportation mode of the large-scale transport stream 12 comprises vessels (ships) 16 and that of the small-scale transport stream 14 comprises trucks 18.
Due to constraints of the physical size of a terminal such as terminal 10, as well as in order to reduce operating costs, terminals have a limited number of resources, such as space, roads, working hours, forklifts, container-cranes, and terminal vehicles and crews that are used to move the full containers in the terminal, including to shift containers from place to place, to lift containers off and on terminal vehicles, to service vessels 16 by lifting full containers off and onto a vessel 16, and to service trucks 18 by lifting full containers off and onto a truck 18. It is appreciated that terminal vehicles are similar or identical to road vehicles, but dedicated for use only within the confines of the terminal.
In the illustrated terminal 10, there are three stacks of full containers:
an inbound stack 20 of full containers destined for import, that must pass various procedures such as inspection and/or customs procedures (including payment of taxes and excises) and then loaded onto trucks 18 for removal from terminal 10, each to a final destination in accordance with the instructions of a respective consignee (the entity importing a full container by vessel through a terminal);
an outbound stack 22 of full containers destined for export that, were brought to terminal 10 by trucks 18 and are to be lifted onto a vessel 16 after concluding customs procedures and/or inspection; and
a transit stack 24 of full containers for transshipment, that were brought to terminal 10 by a vessel 16, lifted off the vessel for temporary storage in transit stack 24, and are to be lifted on to a different vessel 16 passing only “in bond” customs procedures.
In this context, it is important that in some terminals one or more of the three stacks may be made up of a number of discrete sub-stacks at substantially different locations in the terminal.
Large-Scale Transport Stream
A vessel 16a docks at the waterline of terminal 10.
Terminal resources are used to lift full containers destined for import off vessel 16a to inbound stack 20 and also to lift full containers destined for transshipment off vessel 16a to transit stack 24.
Subsequently, and sometimes concurrently, terminal resources are used to lift full containers destined for export onto vessel 16a from outbound stack 22 and from transit stack 24.
Small-Scale Transport Stream
Herein, in the context of a small-scale transport stream, the term “export” refers to bringing of a full container from a location of a shipper (the entity exporting a full container by vessel from a terminal) to a terminal. For export, a truck 18 is loaded with a full container at a location of a shipper, passes into terminal 10 through a lane 26 of a gate 28, and stops in the vicinity of outbound stack 22. The full container is unloaded from the truck by the terminal resources and lifted on outbound stack 22. The now-unladen truck 18 leaves terminal 10 through exit 32.
Herein, in the context of a small-scale transport stream, the term “import” refers to delivering of a full container from a terminal to a location of a consignee. For import, an unladen truck 18 passes into terminal 10 through a lane 26 of a gate 28 and stops in the vicinity of inbound stack 20. The appropriate full container is lifted off inbound stack 20 and loaded onto the truck 18 by the terminal resources. The truck 18 leaves terminal 10 through exit 32 laden with the full container, and typically transports the container to the consignee.
Passage of trucks 18 into terminal 10 is through gates 28: trucks 18 wait in one of multiple queues 30 associated with one of lanes 26 and are allowed to pass into terminal 10 on a first-in first-out (FIFO) basis. The rate of passage of trucks 18 entering terminal 10 is determined by the terminal resources available to service the trucks at any given time, and is dependent on working days and working hours.
The quality of a terminal such as terminal 10 is typically measured by the ability to service a vessel 16 of large-scale transport stream 12 on time. In the case of a sea terminal, this means minimizing the turn-around time required to unload full containers destined for import from a vessel 16 and to load full containers destined for export onto the vessel. Accordingly, when a vessel 16 is at a terminal 10, maximal terminal resources are dedicated to servicing the vessel at the expense of servicing trucks. The terminal operator continuously monitors the availability of terminal resources, and allows trucks to enter the terminal only when terminal resources are available. If the available terminal resources are reduced, for example, by a shortage of personnel or by a mechanical fault, the rate of entry of trucks into the terminal is reduced or suspended.
It is the responsibility of the shipper (the entity exporting a full container by vessel from a terminal) to ensure that a full container, destined for export onboard a given vessel and voyage number, is in outbound stack 22 prior to a specified cut-off time: the departure of a specified vessel having a specified voyage number is not delayed for a container to be brought to stack 22. As detailed hereinbelow, this is made difficult by the fact that a given full container is allowed to be stored in outbound stack 22 for only a short time and the date of docking of a vessel is known only 2-3 days before docking.
Similarly, it is the responsibility of the consignee (the entity importing a full container by vessel through a terminal) to ensure that a full container destined to be imported is stored on inbound stack 20 for as short a time as possible to avoid taking up valuable space in the terminal.
Import
About 2-4 days before a vessel 16a docks carrying a specific full container destined for import, the customs broker assigned by the consignee receives a “notice of arrival” notifying of the imminent arrival of vessel 16a. After vessel 16a docks, the full container is lifted-off, or unloaded from, vessel 16a and placed on inbound stack 20. The customs broker clears the full container through customs and provides the consignee with a delivery order. In some instances, such as in terminals in the United States, the custom procedure begins as soon as “notice of arrival” is received (e.g., 2-4 days prior to docking) to save valuable time so that the customs procedure typically ends before the vessel docks at the terminal.
The full container must be picked-up from inbound stack 20 and removed from terminal 10 within a 4 day period from unloading, or “touch down”, of the container, that is to say prior to the last free day for pick up, to avoid payment of heavy fines. The consignee coordinates with a trucking operator (the operator of a truck or fleet of trucks) to pick-up the full container from stack 20 (preferably as soon as possible), preferably prior to the last free day for pick up, and to deliver the full container to a designated location, for example a warehouse of the consignee, preferably at a time which is convenient for the consignee.
To pick-up the full container, a truck driver of the trucking operator receives a delivery order from the customs broker of the consignee and arrives with an unladen truck 18 (typically a semitrailer truck, although in some terminals just a tractor unit) to wait in a queue 30 to enter terminal 10, typically on a day prior to the last free day for pick up. As passage of a truck 18 into terminal 10 is on the basis of first-in first-out of a queue 30, the truck driver often prefers to arrive early (typically well-before terminal 10 opens for operation) and wait in a queue 30, typically for many hours, e.g., 3-4 hours. When terminal 10 opens and servicing of trucks 18 begins, each truck 18, in turn, enters terminal 10, if necessary attaches a semitrailer, and stops proximal to a correct part of inbound stack 20 in accordance with the delivery order. The correct full container is then lifted off inbound stack 20 and loaded onto truck 18 using terminal resources. The now-laden truck 18 exits terminal 10 via exit 32.
In some terminals, a trucking operator is able to contact the terminal operator to select a time-window (typically having a duration of about 4 hours) on a designated day, within the 4-day period prior to the last free day for pick up, to pick-up the full container. Such selection of a time-window allows some for better distribution of arrivals of trucks 18 at a queue 30, but in practice, truck drivers must still wait many hours in a queue such as queue 30 to pick-up the full container. For example, if a time-window for a given truck driver is 8:00 AM-11:59 AM on a given day, the truck driver may arrive at a queue 30 with a truck 18 at about 3:00 AM to be amongst the first in the queue.
Export
Based on a shipping scheduled published by the terminal operator or shipping company, a shipper selects a specific vessel and voyage for exporting a full container to some destination weeks prior to the specific vessel docking at the terminal, and requests that a booking agent book a place on the vessel for the full container. The booking agent books the place on the container, and provides the shipper with a booking number.
Three to five working days prior to the actual docking of a vessel 16 (that is typically close to, but not necessarily identical with, the scheduled date for docking at the time the booking was made) the booking agent informs the shipper of a cut-off time: a time and a date before which the full container must be found on outbound stack 24 in order to be loaded onto vessel 16. The shipping company makes an empty container, stored in a container depot, available to the shipper.
The shipper coordinates with a trucking operator to bring the empty container from a container depot to a designated location (for example a warehouse of the shipper) for stuffing (placing of the goods for shipping in the empty container) preferably at a time which is convenient for the shipper, and then deliver the full container to the terminal prior to the cut-off time.
On the agreed upon day, the truck driver picks up the empty container from the container depot and arrives at a designated location. At the designated location, the shipper stuffs the empty container with the goods to be transported within an agreed upon and limited time, typically no more than 2 hours.
Once the container is stuffed with the goods, the doors of containers are sealed and the shipper contacts the customs broker to prepare all the required export documents for shipment of the container.
When the container-stuffing is complete and the customs broker properly advised, the truck driver drives the truck 18, laden with the full container, to terminal 10 to wait in a queue 30 at one of the lanes 26 of a gate 28. When its turn comes, truck 18 enters terminal 10 and stops proximal to a correct part of outbound stack 22 in accordance with the export documents. Terminal resources are then used to unload the full container from truck 18 and to lift the full container onto outbound stack 22. The now-unladen truck 18 exits terminal 10 via exit 32.
In some terminals, a trucking operator is able to contact the terminal operator in advance (e.g. prior to stuffing of container by the shipper) to select a time-window (typically of about 4 hours) on a designated day during the 4-day period prior to the cut-off time, for delivery of the full container to the terminal. Such selection of a time-window may reduce the average waiting time in a queue, but in practice truck drivers must still wait many hours in a queue for delivery of a full container for export.
The unique characteristics of transloading, especially as found at land-sea terminals, render efficient use of trucks impossible.
First, there is inherent uncertainty regarding the date when a specific vessel and voyage number will actually dock, and the date when the terminal will start servicing the vessel.
Consequently, there is an inherent uncertainty regarding the date when a given vessel will set sail, and due to the fact that full containers may not be stored for longer than 3-4 days in the terminal on an inbound or outbound stack. As a result, a truck cannot schedule its arrival at a terminal more than a few days in advance.
Additionally, a truck driver cannot independently schedule a time for delivery of a full container to a terminal or for pick-up of a full container from a terminal: the driver must coordinate the delivery or pick-up time with what is possible, and preferably convenient, for the customer, either a shipper or a consignee.
Additionally, vessels always have first priority for service at a terminal, meaning that any shortage of resources (e.g., caused by technical malfunction, shortage of personnel, or an incidentally higher than average number of vessels to be serviced) affects the rate of servicing of trucks.
Additionally, factors such as traffic, weather and technical delays make it difficult for a truck driver to accurately known how long it will take to arrive at a terminal from a location of origin, so the truck driver must always plan to arrive early rather than be later in a queue.
As a consequence, truck drivers expect to, and plan to, wait many hours in a queue to enter the terminal. Even in terminals that allow selection of time-windows, the time-windows are allocated only 1-4 days ahead of time, are very long (4 hours). Additionally, the time windows are typically queue-based, that is to say, many trucks are allocated the same time-slot and are still serviced on a first-in first out basis. As trucks enter a terminal on a first-in first-out basis, the terminal operator does not know the identity of the next truck to be serviced.
The result of all of the above is that use of trucks (small-scale transport stream 14) at a terminal is extremely inefficient. Truck drivers find themselves waiting in a queue for many hours. For example, a truck driver may need to arrive at a terminal at 05:00 AM to wait in a queue for the terminal to open at 07:00 AM. Such waiting in queue is a waste of trucks and of truck driver time, and causes pollution as the truck motor is left on, for example to power air-conditioning.
This inefficiency is compounded by the fact that terminals, consignee/shippers and truck drivers, do not work 24 hours a day. As a result, time coordination between these three entities is difficult, so time is wasted. Further, for safety reasons, the number of consecutive hours that a truck driver is legally permitted to drive is limited. As a result, long waiting times in a queue often lead the entire work day of a truck driver and of a truck to be wasted. Consequently, transport of a container that could take a few hours, often takes more than a day. For example, a truck driver may have waited in a queue for a number of hours and the terminal closes for the night. As the truck driver is loathe to lose the turn in the queue, the truck driver stays in the queue overnight. Alternately, the truck driver comes back the next day and charges the consignee or shipper additional “dry run charges” for the wasted time and fuel.
A driver delivering a full container released from customs to a location designated by a consignee must arrive at the terminal early to wait in a queue, but does not know when the full container will be loaded onto the truck, and thus does not know when the full container can be delivered at the designated location. The driver may leave the terminal with the full container during rush hour, causing further delays. The consignee may have to keep the designated location (e.g., warehouse) open and staffed beyond normal working hours, for an indeterminate time, to be able to accept and unload the full container, thereby increasing costs. The truck may arrive at the designated location during non-working hours and remain loaded and unusable until the next day. In such cases, consignees pay “pre-pull” charges as the loaded container must be safely stored overnight, for example in a guarded area.
A driver scheduled to deliver a full container for export from a location designated by a shipper (e.g., a warehouse) to a terminal must arrive at the location with an empty container at a time estimated to allow stuffing of the empty container, and must depart the designated location at a suitable time to reach the terminal when open, and when relevant, near a reserved time-window. This may lead to a driver wasting a day with a full container loaded on the truck rendering the truck unusable, or the shipper may have to keep the container stuffing location open and staffed beyond normal working hours to stuff the empty container, thereby increasing costs.
An additional challenge occurs when the capacity of a terminal is unexpectedly and severely disrupted as a result, for example, of inclement weather, sea conditions, or labour disputes. Such events may result in a terminal being totally or partially closed. When full capacity is resumed, previously scheduled trucks report en masse to the terminal, in an uncoordinated and chaotic fashion, leading to traffic congestion, pollution and waste of work time.